Kira Augustmar: The Activist

Activism. A common sight near Seattle, happening so much in our everyday lives that we hardly give it a second thought. However, in the eyes of Kira Augustamar, activism is one of the key parts of her personality due to her current and previous background in protests and marches. She wholeheartedly supports Intersectional Feminism, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ+ Rights. On the topic of BLM, she said, “I care about my community and the people around me who suffer and have to be shot for the color of their skin. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense [to me].” Augustamar also mentions that the LGBTQ+ rights movement is very important to her, as many of her friends are part of the LGBTQ+ community. When questioned about it she stated, “The next thing I’m passionate about is the rights of LGBTQ+ people…it’s important to love who you love…you should be able to identify as anything, no questions asked.” Finally, Augustamar voiced her opinion on the women’s rights movement that is spreading like wildfire through the country at the moment. “Women’s rights! I really care about women’s rights and reproductive rights…it’s your body, your choice” Augustamar also says that she’s been to several protests and marches, as well as marching in the Women’s March which took place this last January.

Kira then discussed her bold fashion sense and style from her chameleon hair to her rainbow of outfits. When asked about her inspiration for her style she stated, “My inspiration from my style…it comes from what I’m feeling.” Recently, her hair was further accentuated by new silver-grey tips which made her style even bolder. To this, she commented, “… I don’t really like to express myself with colors. I like shades because they go good with anything. So like my hair, I did grey because it goes good with anything. I could wear any color and it’d be fine.” Even though it seems as if all of Augustamar’s style is very original and never seen it before, she says that it’s more of a combination of a lot of different styles from a lot of inspiring, powerful women. She mentioned that she is inspired by “Diana Ross, maybe Aaliyah, anyone from TLC…Beyonce, *laughs* yeah! And just…fashion models, I guess plus-sized fashion models especially. I think they’re very inspiring so I get a lot of my style from them.” She is very body positive and not only believes that everyone should have a choice over their own body but also shouldn’t have to conform to society’s views of what they should be wearing. Augustamar also mentioned that a lot of her fashion inspiration comes from powerful, black women. Her inspirations for style choice further her activism in the BLM movement and also the women’s rights movement.

Unlike many students in high school, Augustamar knows exactly what she would like to be when she graduates; the first female African-American President of the United States. She revealed that if she goes on to achieve her dream, she would change quite a few issues with our country, “Well, since I’m a liberal person, definitely the rights of gay marriage and LGBTQ+ rights, definitely something to do with police brutality. Fuel, like coal…less of that because of keeping the world clean…global warming especially. Keeping our community supportive and diverse and [with] no discrimination is definitely something I would want to work on…” Kira’s main inspiration is her dad. “My dad is an immigrant from Haiti and he rose from basically nothing into a great person. He’s very inspirational and he has taught me to be humble and to look at the world in a different view….I often think about…that I should be more grateful…he went through a lot and I’m very passionate about having that figure in my life because [of] a stereotype that black kids don’t have dads…he has always told me is that he never wants that stereotype to be true for me. He wants to be the father figure [to me] because he never had one.” Powerful women inspire Augustamar as she really encourages all girls to speak their minds and try to achieve their dreams. This was apparent when she revealed that one of her biggest inspirations is Michelle Obama. “…she’s a black woman who graduated from a really prestigious college and then with her being the first lady, she’s not just known for being the first lady. She’s known for being such a successful person and I think that’s cool how she stands as her own…” said Augustamar. Overall, Augustamar says that one of the most important aspects to her personality and her personal beliefs is that no injustice goes unnoticed. She expressed this by saying, “Something important about me is that…when…I see the world hurting, I don’t stand for it. I make my voice heard, and even when people disagree, I’m open to their opinions but I also express mine…there’s something inside me that tells me that everyone’s important, everyone has a purpose and to care for everyone.” Kira would like everyone to know that they are important and that no matter their gender, skin color or sexual orientation, they should know they’re cared for. To end her interview she stated, “I’m not afraid to stand for something that I believe in. I think that’s something really important about me. I like to be bold. I don’t want to be the norm. I don’t want to be basic. I like to go outside the box. I wanna be someone else. Not a cookie cutter. That’s what I like to say, don’t be a cookie cutter shape.”